Wild Hearts still plays great — so why did EA let it die?

Three years later: Wild Hearts is a great hunt that was left to rot

This caught my attention because Wild Hearts deserves better. Three years after its messy February 17, 2023 launch, Omega Force and EA’s Monster Hunter competitor still delivers some of the most satisfying monster-hunting beats you’ll find on consoles or PC – but a mixture of launch performance issues and what appears to be quiet abandonment from its publisher has turned a promising rival into an increasingly obscure footnote.

• What works: Big, weighty fights, inventive “Kemono” weapon designs, a strong orchestral score and a feudal-Azuma aesthetic that actually feels distinct from Capcom’s monsters.
• What fails: Uneven technical performance at launch that never saw a full resolution on the original platforms, and near-zero post-launch communication or major content.
• The result: A game worth recommending to hunting fans – but one that was left to wither in the marketplace.

Key takeaways

• Wild Hearts launched Feb. 17, 2023 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and briefly peaked at 28,511 concurrent players on Steam.
• Critics liked the core loop – Metacritic sits in the mid-to-high 70s and OpenCritic recommended it around 74% — but reviews repeatedly called out tech issues.
• By early 2026 Steam live players linger around dramatic lows (single digits to dozens), and there have been almost no meaningful patches or public roadmaps from Omega Force or EA — a textbook case of effective abandonment.

Breaking down what still works

Play Wild Hearts for the hunt, and you’ll be rewarded. Omega Force managed to translate the rhythm of tracking, mounting and dismantling massive creatures into something kinetic and memorable. The game’s “Kemono” weapons are a clever twist on the usual weapon archetypes, and Azuma’s feudal Japan-inspired locales give the fights a different flavor than Capcom’s settings. Review aggregates (PC ~75, PS5 ~79, Xbox ~76) reflect this: critics loved the spectacle, the orchestral score, and the creature design even when they griped about the tech.

What sank it — and why neglect matters

The problem wasn’t the design so much as the delivery. Wild Hearts launched with notable performance problems on all platforms; frame pacing, CPU/GPU inefficiencies and pop-in cropped up in most launch-era write-ups. The community response and player retention back that up: Steam saw a launch peak of 28,511 concurrent users, but by February 2026 live counts are in the double digits or lower. Sensor Tower-ish monthly figures showed big early activity (tens of thousands in March 2023) then a steady bleed. The spikes tied to discounts or short sales periods only emphasize that players are returning for bargains, not active long-term engagement.

What stings is the silence. There’s been little evidence of a sustained post-launch plan from EA or Omega Force: no steady roadmap, no major expansions, and — critically — no clear campaign to fix the tech problems that spoiled first impressions. In an era when a few well-timed patches or a price adjustment can revive an underdog (look at how other titles quietly reappraise after steady support or price drops), Wild Hearts looks like an example of what happens when an ambitious title doesn’t get the follow-through it needs.

Why this matters for Monster Hunter fans and the market

Players who love big-monster choreography should care: a viable Monster Hunter rival would be healthy for the genre. Wild Hearts already brought fresh ideas to familiar loop — a separate combat sensibility and thematic identity that weren’t just imitators. But the modern multiplayer and live-service ecosystem is unforgiving. Without reliable updates, community engagement and technical fixes, even mechanically sound games run out of runway.

What to watch next

• Player numbers on SteamDB and Sensor Tower after the Switch 2 release (Wild Hearts S arrived July 25, 2025) — any meaningful spike could prompt renewed interest.
• Official communication from Koei Tecmo (they handled the Switch 2 port) — a dev blog or roadmap would be the clearest sign the IP still matters.
• EA’s financial disclosures for hints of strategic decisions around Omega Force projects.

TL;DR: Wild Hearts is the sort of game I want to recommend: it’s fun to play, creatively distinct and scratches the hunting itch. But its launch tech issues and what looks like post-launch neglect turned that potential into a slow fade. If you find it on sale and you love methodical, cinematic monster fights, it’s worth a shot — just don’t expect a living, supported game ecosystem around it unless Koei or EA decide to get serious again.